Mailbag
April 15th, 2007 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: As an illustrator do you go to great lengths to protect your hands from injuries? I know it would be a tragedy to injure your hands as you wouldn’t be able to work. For example do you avoid playing catch with the kids and things like that? A: I wouldn’t say I go to “great lengths” but I don’t do anything stupid either. About 6 years ago I was working out with a boxing heavy bag, and while I was wailing on it I hurt my right wrist. I ended up getting something called Decravain’s Tendinitis. That is where the tendons in your wrist,… READ MORE
April 8th, 2007 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I have some larger size artwork (like 18″x24″) to scan and I have not been able to find a home scanner that can scan this size. I have taken some stuff to Staples to scan on their large machine but it gets kind of expensive. Can you tell me if you have an easy way to scan large artwork? (I assume you scan your large pages for MAD??) A: A full MAD spread is 21″ x 32.25″ at 200% print size, so I have this problem a lot. I have a Microtek 9600XL 12 x 17 scanner, which is as big as they get… READ MORE
April 1st, 2007 | Posted in Mailbag
Uh oh! Looks like the mailbag is empty! When I get some fresh questions concerning cartooning, illustration, freelancing, MAD Magazine or other similar subjects I’ll be happy to answer them as best I can. E-mail me your questions and I’ll try and answer them here! READ MORE
March 25th, 2007 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Aren’t you worried about getting sued by a celebrity for selling their caricature? Isn’t their image copyrighted somehow? A: No, I am not worried about it for many reasons. First off, I don’t sell their caricatures. I draw caricatures for publications like magazines, books and newspapers. Neither I nor they can be sued by a celebrity for using their likeness to accompany a story or article, because that’s what freedom of the press is. Magazines use photos and illustrations of celebrities all the time and the only way they can be sued if is the article that they are illustrating knowingly lies about the… READ MORE
March 18th, 2007 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I assume you use photo references for your movie/TV parodies. Do you draw the character’s facial expressions from these or do you just ‘make them up’? I know this question may seem lame but everyone’s smile, frown etc is different and unique to them and caricaturing is as much about capturing a person’s personality as it is the drawn look. Do you find pictures of the expressions you’re after or do you just ‘wing it’? A: In many cases I ‘wing it’ as you called it. It would be impossible to assemble a collection of images of a person with all the various expressions… READ MORE
March 11th, 2007 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I’ve been working on some artwork for a client and have been having a hard time sending pencil drawings of the work to the client so that they can adequately see them before I start on inking and coloring. Do you have any tips on how I can scan the pencil drawings better for my client? A: I’ve totally replaced the fax machine with scanning and sending jpeg images to clients for approvals. That is pretty much the standard now, and what most clients expect. Of course you need a scanner, but not a very expensive one. Unless you also use your scanner to… READ MORE
March 4th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Q: My question is about keeping all business matters straight. Do you recommend any software in particular such as Quicken or the myriad Microsoft Office apps? A: The business aspect of being a freelance illustrator is sometimes intimidating for artists because… well…. they’re ARTISTS. Whether you buy into the left brain/right brain theory or not, it’s often the case that the creative mind has difficulty with analytical things like organization, record keeping, invoicing, etc. It’s really not difficult at all, and there are lots of things that can help out. Some are computer programs and some are not. In addition to the freelance business, I… READ MORE
February 25th, 2007 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: What TV parodies have you done? A: Since last week’s question was about movie parodies, I expected this one would be next. Thanks, for the question, Ike! Again, I did do one TV parody in Cracked, which I will include in the list: Cracked- The Stupranos (The Sopranos)- I wrote this one with help from cartoonist friend Jim Batts MAD- #403- (Mar 01)- “Malcontent in the Muddle” (Malcolm in the Middle) #413- (Jan 02)- “Boston Pubic” (Boston Public) #414 (Feb 02)- “America’s Most Wonton” (America’s Most Wanted) #426 (Feb 03)- “Shlubs” (Scrubs) #435 (Nov 03) “Trashing Places” (Trading Spaces) #442 (June 04) “The O.D.”… READ MORE
